Charlotte Henry is a journalist and broadcaster who creates and runs The Addition newsletter and podcast; an award-winning publication looking at the crossover between media and technology.
Weekend Round-up: Blurring of Tech and Media, Publishers Using AI to Replace Human Writers Will Fail
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Welcome to The Addition, where I cover the crossover between culture, media and sport. This is a weekend round-up of the stories I've covered over the last few days. If you have a premium subscription, thank you! If not, please consider upgrading to a Premium Subscription. It means you get even more content AND the satisfaction of supporting the growth of independent media! [Some links may help generate a commission that also supports The Addition.] Sequoia Capital And How Media and Tech ConvergedLast week, Sequoia Capital invested $100 million in Mubi. A Silicon Valley venture capital firm investing in a UK-based indie film streaming service is as good a demonstration as any of how technology has collided with media and culture. (Almost like someone should write a newsletter, or even a book, about this space…) Tech firms and investors want to have a cultural relevance that goes beyond making the hardware and software that we use every minute of the day. Andrew Reed, the Sequoia partner who led the investment, told the Financial Times that his firm is “a Silicon Valley investor, so the question is, how many people around the world will projects like this resonate with? Our opinion is that this is going to resonate with a lot more people than anybody thinks,” which rather makes the point. Whether it is Amazon and Apple launching streaming services and making award-winning film and TV, or Netflix developing its AI infrastructure, the gap between what is a media firm and a tech firm is getting ever smaller...
AI in News and ViewsThe Washington Post is reportedly exploring partnerships with other newspapers, Substack writers, and even non-professional writers (gasp!). This is part of attempts to expand the opinion section, according to Benjamin Mullin at The New York Times. At the heart of this story is, of course, AI, which the paper will use to support writers, presumably, the non-pros who don’t have access to a human editor or the skills to write a proper piece. (Yes, I’m being a snob. Sorry, not sorry.) Mullin reports: Ember, the AI writing coach being developed by The Post, could automate several functions normally provided by human editors, the people said. Early mock-ups of the tool feature a “story strength” tracker that tells writers how their piece is shaping up, with a sidebar that lays out basic parts of story structure: “early thesis,” “supporting points” and “memorable ending.” A live A.I. assistant would provide developmental questions, with writing prompts inviting authors to add “solid supporting points,” one of the people said. Truth and standards matter, but the democratisation of media, whether it is written, video or audio, is generally a good thing. The more voices, the merrier. The market can generally weed out the rubbish, if not the disinformation AI tools can be useful in producing work. From Grammarly to ChatGPT, I use them myself. However...
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The Addition
Charlotte Henry is a journalist and broadcaster who creates and runs The Addition newsletter and podcast; an award-winning publication looking at the crossover between media and technology.
Welcome to The Addition, where I cover the crossover between culture, media and sport. This is a weekend round-up of the stories I've covered over the last few days. If you have a premium subscription, thank you! If not, please consider upgrading to a premium subscription. It means you get even more content AND the satisfaction of supporting the growth of independent media! [Some links may help generate a commission that also supports The Addition.] Eni Aluko Was Wrong to Criticise Ian Wright...
Welcome to The Addition, where I cover the crossover between culture, media and sport. This is a weekend round-up of the stories I've covered over the last few days. If you have a premium subscription, thank you! If not, please consider upgrading to a premium subscription. It means you get even more content AND the satisfaction of supporting the growth of independent media! [Some links may help generate a commission that also supports The Addition.] EXCLUSIVE: BBC Insiders Hit Out at Gary...
Welcome to The Addition, where I cover the crossover between culture, media and sport. This is a weekend round-up of the stories I've covered over the last few days. If you have a premium subscription, thank you! If not, please consider upgrading to a premium subscription. I'm offering 30% off right now. It means you get even more content AND the satisfaction of supporting the growth of independent media! [Some links may help generate a commission that also supports The Addition.]...